Do we have a realistic shot at winning the NFC West?

I have to agree that cautiously optimistic is how I feel too. I think we match up fairly well against the teams in our division. Pass rush is still a concern in my mind , until I can finally see some of our players improving. We have as good of a chance as the Seahawks and Cardinals ------ they are always tough opponents for us but our games are usually pretty close matches.

Originally posted by Ninefan56:Yes, We have a realistic shot at winning the NFC West. We should have at least won the second game last year with Arizona. We match up well against them and this year we should split or win both games. The rest of the West we can win outright. Whether we will or not we will see as they play the games. I would see us winning at least 4 out of the 6 games with the west. I see us at 10-6.

We don't match up in pass defense. You need a pass rush to beat Warner.

That sounds like a homerism to me. Leinart wasn't nearly as bad as you make it sound, he just happens to be on a team with an MVP QB. I'd take Leinart over Smith at this point anyday.

Alex Smith 2006 looked a lot better than any iteration of Matt Leinart. In his most substantial play, Leinart started 5 games in 2007, threw 2 TD's and 4 INT's at a 53.6 completion rate and 61.9 passer rating. In 2006, Smith threw for 16 TD's and 16 INT's with a 58.1 completion rate, 74.9 passer rating and 2890 yards. But we'll see how both developed in the past couple years now that they are healthy. I'm not sure why you would want Leinart over Smith anyday, unless you are more of a Trojans fan than a Niners fan.

Originally posted by jays9ers:The only way were going to make the play-offs is if we win the west. I don't see us being competitive enough for a wild card spot in the NFC, so winning the west is paramount. But I have serious doubts that we will be capable of winning the NFC west because with the exception of the Rams every team has improved.

Cardinals- Super Bowl runner ups. I really don't see them falling off dramatically because they lost the Superbowl. They still have that potent offense in place, and with the addition of Beanie Wells to their back field they will be tough to handle this season.

Seahawks- With an aging Hassleback at the helm they should rebound from their disappointing season. Yea Hassleback is getting old but he's still a solid QB. They upgraded their WR with the addition of Who's your mamma and the defense got some solid draft choices.

Rams- Well...... there in total rebuild mode. I see us sweeping them.

49ers- Ok to good draft in my opinion... Pass rush is still a big ?? The O-line needs to pass protect much better than they did last year. QB play will ultimately determine our fate.... I'm cautiously optimistic about this season. We may improve as a team but it may not reflect in our overall record..

Here's the thing...most teams have a lot of potential. But the only way they can compete is if they stay healthy and avoid taking a lot of unnecessary hits, particularly at the QB position. We saw last year how injuries basically took Seattle and St. Louis out of the race. Seattle's receiver situation was funny yet sad, that they were down to the 5th and 6th receivers, then they used QB Seneca Wallace as a receiver, haha.

So depth is going to play a big part this season.

I think that's where we trump every other team this year. Even if we're down to our last receivers, we'd still be in pretty good shape. Arnaz Battle, Jason Hill and Dominique Zeigler would be no worse than our starters in 2003-2007. We are stacked!

Both Arizona and Seattle have aging quarterbacks that don't move well. If Kurt Warner is out for any extended period of time, Arizona is going to have to rely on Matt Leinart, which is probably less promising a situation than we have with Alex. That's not just the homer in me, Leinart has played horribly. If Hasselbeck goes down, Seattle is probably done. St. Louis has a lot of issues, but if their o-line plays well, their defense might keep them in games. Their secondary is atrocious, but with Curry in the middle and Chris Long in his second year, they shouldn't give up as many rushing yards.

I think we have a very realistic shot of winning the West. Our defense is going to be very good this year. With most of the same crew, the addition of Dre Bly and Tarrell Brown, and changing of the guard at free safety with Dashon Goldson, we will have more turnovers. As for a rushing attack, everyone's keeping their fingers crossed that a light goes off in Manny's head. It's obvious that Nolan's playcalling was holding us back. With an entire season of Singletary's simplified coaching, our talent can be allowed to run free instead of overly complicated schemes on both offense and defense.

We actually came a lot closer to winning the West than people realize. It came down to one play at the end of the Arizona game...if that had gone differently, we might have taken the division. That's not how things worked out, but we got better...I don't think Arizona has improved outside of getting Beanie Wells. And if there's anything our defense has shown, we don't give up a lot of rushing yards since our linebackers are very fast and can snuff the run quickly.

Yes injuries always play a part in determining a teams success.. But wasn't it Seneca Wallace who tourched us last year??? Yes we have depth at WR but will the Qb play be effecient this year?? The O-line is still shoddy as we know of now..

The Cardinals did lose both coordinators but they still have outstanding talent overall.. There may be a slight drop off in their play but they still will be tough to handle.

Yes injuries always play a part in determining a teams success.. But wasn't it Seneca Wallace who tourched us last year??? Yes we have depth at WR but will the Qb play be effecient this year?? The O-line is still shoddy as we know of now..

The Cardinals did lose both coordinators but they still have outstanding talent overall.. There may be a slight drop off in their play but they still will be tough to handle.

I think the game against Seattle last year was one of the ugliest games I've ever seen. The tackling was atrocious on that Leonard Weaver 60 some yard short pass TD. I think the biggest reason why we lost that game (and many other games) was Nolan's Big Nickel package, which put all of our best players aka linebackers way off the line, around the secondary in a prevent defense, so after the one game against the Lions where it seemingly worked (they went 0-16, anything would've worked), it was as if we were scheming against Martz's offensive playbook. The moment Nolan was fired and Manusky took over, we were not giving up ridiculous yardage on short passes.

Yes injuries always play a part in determining a teams success.. But wasn't it Seneca Wallace who tourched us last year??? Yes we have depth at WR but will the Qb play be effecient this year?? The O-line is still shoddy as we know of now..

The Cardinals did lose both coordinators but they still have outstanding talent overall.. There may be a slight drop off in their play but they still will be tough to handle.

I think the game against Seattle last year was one of the ugliest games I've ever seen. The tackling was atrocious on that Leonard Weaver 60 some yard short pass TD. I think the biggest reason why we lost that game (and many other games) was Nolan's Big Nickel package, which put all of our best players aka linebackers way off the line, around the secondary in a prevent defense, so after the one game against the Lions where it seemingly worked (they went 0-16, anything would've worked), it was as if we were scheming against Martz's offensive playbook. The moment Nolan was fired and Manusky took over, we were not giving up ridiculous yardage on short passes.

Originally posted by jays9ers:The only way were going to make the play-offs is if we win the west. I don't see us being competitive enough for a wild card spot in the NFC, so winning the west is paramount. But I have serious doubts that we will be capable of winning the NFC west because with the exception of the Rams every team has improved.

Cardinals- Super Bowl runner ups. I really don't see them falling off dramatically because they lost the Superbowl. They still have that potent offense in place, and with the addition of Beanie Wells to their back field they will be tough to handle this season.

Seahawks- With an aging Hassleback at the helm they should rebound from their disappointing season. Yea Hassleback is getting old but he's still a solid QB. They upgraded their WR with the addition of Who's your mamma and the defense got some solid draft choices.

Rams- Well...... there in total rebuild mode. I see us sweeping them.

49ers- Ok to good draft in my opinion... Pass rush is still a big ?? The O-line needs to pass protect much better than they did last year. QB play will ultimately determine our fate.... I'm cautiously optimistic about this season. We may improve as a team but it may not reflect in our overall record..

Here's the thing...most teams have a lot of potential. But the only way they can compete is if they stay healthy and avoid taking a lot of unnecessary hits, particularly at the QB position. We saw last year how injuries basically took Seattle and St. Louis out of the race. Seattle's receiver situation was funny yet sad, that they were down to the 5th and 6th receivers, then they used QB Seneca Wallace as a receiver, haha.

So depth is going to play a big part this season.

I think that's where we trump every other team this year. Even if we're down to our last receivers, we'd still be in pretty good shape. Arnaz Battle, Jason Hill and Dominique Zeigler would be no worse than our starters in 2003-2007. We are stacked!

Both Arizona and Seattle have aging quarterbacks that don't move well. If Kurt Warner is out for any extended period of time, Arizona is going to have to rely on Matt Leinart, which is probably less promising a situation than we have with Alex. That's not just the homer in me, Leinart has played horribly. If Hasselbeck goes down, Seattle is probably done. St. Louis has a lot of issues, but if their o-line plays well, their defense might keep them in games. Their secondary is atrocious, but with Curry in the middle and Chris Long in his second year, they shouldn't give up as many rushing yards.

I think we have a very realistic shot of winning the West. Our defense is going to be very good this year. With most of the same crew, the addition of Dre Bly and Tarrell Brown, and changing of the guard at free safety with Dashon Goldson, we will have more turnovers. As for a rushing attack, everyone's keeping their fingers crossed that a light goes off in Manny's head. It's obvious that Nolan's playcalling was holding us back. With an entire season of Singletary's simplified coaching, our talent can be allowed to run free instead of overly complicated schemes on both offense and defense.

We actually came a lot closer to winning the West than people realize. It came down to one play at the end of the Arizona game...if that had gone differently, we might have taken the division. That's not how things worked out, but we got better...I don't think Arizona has improved outside of getting Beanie Wells. And if there's anything our defense has shown, we don't give up a lot of rushing yards since our linebackers are very fast and can snuff the run quickly.

That sounds like a homerism to me. Leinart wasn't nearly as bad as you make it sound, he just happens to be on a team with an MVP QB. I'd take Leinart over Smith at this point anyday.

This fan site is dedicated to the 49ers and their fans. It is in no way affiliated with the NFL or any of its teams. All teams and players mentioned on this site are registered trademarks of the NFL. The use of any team names, words, trademarks, logos or photos have been used for descriptive purposes only. The content and information from other sites is the property of their respective owners. Player and team photos used with permission from USA TODAY Sports Images.